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Music

20th Aug 2018

Bas: “As an artist I think you owe your fans progression and maturity”

Will Lavin

If you don’t know about Bas then where the hell have you been?

Michael Jordan had Scottie Pippen. Batman had Robin. Snoop had Dre. Obama had Biden.

J. Cole has Bas.

Recently announcing that his third studio album Milky Way will be out this coming Friday, Bas follows up his “Boca Raton” collaboration with A$AP Ferg by teasing new single “Tribe”, featuring Dreamville boss J. Cole.

Sounding like it has the makings of a classic in the same vein as the pair’s “My N***a Just Made Bail” (featuring arguably one of Cole’s best verses ever), fans can’t wait for it to drop.

Speaking to us on a recent trip to London, Bas stated that Milky Way is by far his best work yet and admitted that he doesn’t like to do the same thing twice when it comes to creating a full body of work.

“I’d say it’s 100 percent my best work to date,” he began. “I think it’s definitely a huge progression from Too High to Riot. I think they’re two completely different worlds.

“I don’t ever wanna do the same thing twice because it’s no fun for me. Also I feel like as an artist you owe your fans a progression and some type of maturity as you progress.

“And that’s what I mean when I talk about making real shit. Real shit grows organically. As we go through these stages in life you’ve got to actively convey what you’re going through to your fanbase. I think Milky Way does that. Sonically it’s fun, man. It’s just a vibe. I’m really excited to share it.”

Also commenting on how London has always supported him and his music, Bas was very complementary about the English capital and how some U.S. cities could learn a thing or two from us.

“London is one of those cities I use to chart my progress,” he explained. “It’s because the people here have been rocking with me from the jump.

“It’s very appreciated what we do here. I think there’s a lot of truth and honesty in all of our music, which is a common thread even though we all have our different styles of bringing it across, everyone’s really giving you their raw perspective and that’s really appreciated here.

“I can’t think of another city that tops London as far as how much I enjoy performing. Every ounce of energy I give the crowd they give it back tenfold.

“Some places aren’t like that in the States. They’re jaded because they get a new act in town every day. They might lean against a wall and rap your whole shit bar for bar but they wanna come off as too cool. It’s different in London, they’re really like ‘We really rock with you and we wanna let you know it with every bead of sweat coming off my body.”

Bas’ Milky Way is set to arrive August 24th.